AN AIRBAG UNIT FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY DEVICE AND A RELATED METHOD OF PACKAGING AN AIRBAG

There is proposed an airbag unit (23) for a motor vehicle safety device, the unit comprising: an inflatable airbag (1) formed of flexible material and provided in a rolled and/or folded package (9), the package (9) being held under compression by a cover (10) which extends around at least part of the package (9), wherein said cover (10) is formed from a ductile fabric material (12) comprising a plurality of polymeric fibres (13a, 13b), at least some of said fibres (13b) being fused to one another to impart a predetermined stable shape to the unit. Also proposed is a method of packaging an airbag (1) for a motor vehicle safety device, the method comprising the steps of: providing an inflatable airbag (1) formed of flexible sheet material; rolling and/or folding the airbag and at least partially wrapping it with an initially flexible cover (10) to form an intermediate package (9a), said cover (10) being formed from a ductile fabric material (12) comprising a plurality of polymeric fibres (13a, 13b); simultaneously heating and pressing the intermediate package (9a) to form a compressed package (23) in which at least some of said fibres (13b) are fused to one another, the compressed package (23) having a stable shape defined by said fused fibres (13b).